Output at 11:25 aM, thursdaypaGE: X-1 saturday, december 1, 2012 Zone: Metro

MalcolM J. “Mac” Rebennack� grew up in New Orleans’ 3rd Ward, served as a Carnival court page as a child and later won a talent show at Jesuit High School, which he dropped out of to concentrate on music. Rebennack cut his teeth in dives across the city in the early 1960s, but he became addicted to narcotics and was sent to rehab after a bust. After his release, he found work as a session guitarist and pianist. He adopted the Dr. John persona in 1967, intending to record one album. More than 20 albums later, Dr. John is an enduring New Orleans icon. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

beginnings: A 1959 Dixie Roto magazine story on 17-year-old Mac Rebennack Jr. referred to him as “a boy with 4,000 songs” and reported that 40 of his compositions had been recorded by other musicians in the past 14 months.

Mac sR.: Dr. John’s father, Malcolm J. Rebennack Sr., ran Rebennack’s Appliance Co. on Gentilly Boulevard.

through the eyes of The Times-Picayune

imes

The RighT TiMe: Dr. John’s 1968 Voodoo-themed

“Gris-Gris” generated enough in-terest that he was asked to produce a follow-up. His subsequent recordings veered toward New Orleans R&B and later funk, producing hits such as “Iko Iko” and “Right Place, Wrong Time.”

liVe: Dr. John played on New Year’s Eve 1979 at the famed Ole Man Rivers club on the West Bank.

Since 1837

Our

Have a topic or a question for a future our times? e m a i l u s : ourtimes@timespicayune.com W r i t e u s : Our Times, The Times-Picayune, 3800 Howard Ave., N.O., LA 70125 m o r e p h o t o s : nola.com/175years